Counter-Strike 2 released to the public on September 27, 2023, replacing Global Offensive on Steam. This took Global Offensive down, with the exception of community servers, which are accessible via a "legacy" branch of Global Offensive.

Running on Source Engine 2, the same game engine used on other Valve games, including Dota 2 and Half-Life: Alyx, Counter-Strike 2 is not a separate sequel to the original game but rather a major free update to Counter-Strike: Global Offensive.

On the other hand, if you were not a CS:GO player but are looking to get into Counter-Strike now, you can easily download the game from Steam. CS2 is free to download, so you just need to make sure you have enough free space. Note that only players on Windows or Linux can play CS2.

In addition to supporting legacy models and finishes, all stock weapons have been upgraded with high-resolution models, and some weapon finishes take advantage of these new models. From UI to gameplay, all visual effects have been reimagined. All of the visual effects have been updated in Counter-Strike 2.